Of Skiing and Birthdays
by Neoaddict
Summary: Emmy the Baby Usul's small size makes it impossible for her to fulfill her wish of becoming a skier. With help from her friends, can she achieve her dreams without changing herself? Or will the school bully ruin everything?


It was a beautiful morning on Terror Mountain. The sun's bright, golden light reflected off the fresh, crisp snow, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. For some, this simply meant that it was an unusually nice day. For Usuls, it meant one thing: skiing.

Usuls, as you probably know, absoloutely love to ski. Although they may not look it, their bodies are perfectly suited for the sport. At the beginning of the skiing season, all the Usuls throw such a large party that the day was eventually renamed Usul Day. And so, to the Usuls who lived on Terror Mountain, this weather was a total dream come true.

Sure enough, as soon as the ski slopes opened for the day, Usuls of every color came pouring down the mountain like a river of melting snow. Although most of the Usuls were alone or in pairs, the group looked almost synchronized, their tails flying out behind them and their ears flapping in the wind. Before long, the crowd was halfway down the mountain. Those in the lead were showing off with fancy tricks; the ones in the back strained to catch up. Regardless, everyone was having a wonderful time. All, that is, except for one.

Emmy, a tiny Baby Usul, was still at the top of the slope. She couldn't even get started. It wasn't because she was afraid; in fact, she was much braver than her cute appearance showed. No, the problem was that, despite her best efforts, she simply couldn't get her skis to move. Her feet were too small, and the skis were too big. Silently, Emmy cursed the Neopets Team for making the Baby Usul so badly proportioned, and her owner for buying that stupid paint brush in the first place.

She sighed. There was no use standing here forever. Soon enough, the other Usuls would be back at the top for another go, and they would laugh their heads off if they saw that she was still standing there. Emmy awkwardly stretched her tiny arms, straining to loosen her feet from the skis. Just when she almost had the straps in her paws, the skis finally decided to move. Caught off guard, Emmy lurched forward a few feet, hit a rock, and toppled over into the snow, face first. She wiggled, but it was no use. She couldn't get anything more than her head up off the ground.

Now she was really in a pickle. Realizing that she wouldn't be able to free herself on her own, she started yelling as loudly as possible.

"Can anyone hear me? I'm stuck! Help!"

It was with equal parts relief and dread that she heard footsteps behind her. Relief because whoever was there would probably help her; dread because they would most likely laugh at her while doing it.

"Emmy? Is that you? I'm glad I came!" sang out a familiar voice. Emmy immediately felt better. She realized that her rescuer was not some random onlooker, but her best friend, Snowbird, a pink Lenny. They had made plans to meet at the Super Happy Icy Fun Snow Shop after Emmy had finished skiing; Snowbird had probably come looking for her because she was late.

"Hi, Snow," said the Usul sheepishly, trying to act like she thought this was funny. "Could you help me up?"

"Sure." Snowbird quickly walked over and hoisted her friend out of the snow, then helped her unstrap her feet. "How did this happen, anyway?"

Emmy scowled. "Do you really have to ask?" After all, Snowbird had already heard about and witnessed several similar accidents.

The Lenny shrugged. "I guess not. Are we still on for the Snow Shop?"

"Why not? It's not like I'm having the time of my life here." Emmy was trying to act like she didn't care, but inside she felt like crying. No matter how much she practiced, how much she tried, this happened every single time. She grabbed her skis and attempted to casually swing them over her shoulder, but their weight overpowered her, and she tumbled down again, this time on her back.

"Here," said Snowbird gently. "Let me carry those." Good old Snowbird. She would never laugh at a friend, no matter what. She picked up the skis easily and offered Emmy her hand again, but the Usul refused it and got up on her own. She had to preserve what dignity she still had.

The pair started down the path toward the shops at the mountaintop, neither saying a word for a few minutes. Finally, as the Snow Shop came in view, Emmy spoke, more to herself than to her friend.

"I'm totally getting one of those Supersize slushies," she muttered.

Snowbird laughed. "Really? Won't you get a brain freeze?" she teased.

Emmy gave a small smile, but her voice was still bitter. "Sometimes I wish my brain was frozen," she sighed.

Twenty minutes later, Snowbird and Emmy sat at a booth in the Snow Shop, dipping their spoons into a shared Bubble Gum Slushie that was practically as big as Emmy herself. True to her word, the Usul had planned to eat the entire thing herself; but once Snowbird saw the size, the Lenny had refused to let her "go it alone," as she had phrased it. That had gotten them in a silly mood, and now that they were joking around and doing impressions of their school teachers, Emmy was much happier. Who cared if she couldn't ski if her life depended on it? There were always best friends and gigantic slushies to lift one's mood.

"Okay," said Snowbird, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes, "guess who I am." She began talking in a deep, stern voice. "Now, now, class, settle down. Don't you want to learn about the exciting world of physics? Don't you want to grow up to be smart? Don't you want to-"-suddenly; Snowbird raised her wing to her eye, as if hit by something. "-hey;, who threw that? Okay, class, really, now!"

Emmy exploded with laughter, sending a spray of pink slushie all over the table. Snowbird sounded just like Mr. Dour, their physics teacher. He was always serious, and was constantly getting things thrown at him, from paper airplanes to pencils. He thought that Snowbird liked him because she always paid attention and got A's on all his tests, but in truth, she made fun of him at every oppurtunity.

Just as Emmy was about to respond with an impression of her own, the door to the shop opened, and the room was filled with giggly female Usuls. They were all wearing expensive ski outfits and looked like they had come straight from the slopes.

"Oh, no," groaned Snowbird. "It's Helen and her minions."

"Hide me," said Emmy, shrinking into the booth. But it was too late. Helen, a Rainbow Usul and the most popular girl in school, had already spotted them. Now she was striding over, a smug smile on her face and a seemingly endless crowd of wannabes trailing behind her.

"Why, if it isn't Geek and Pipsqueak!" she shrieked in an overloud voice, looking around to make sure that everybody had heard her. "Why aren't you skiing, Pipsqueak? What's the matter, did you trip over a pebble?"

The entire throng of Usuls howled with laughter, as if this was the funniest joke they had ever heard. Emmy sunk lower into her seat, seething. Helen loved to pick on her, and she always knew just what to say to get under Emmy's fur. Today was no exception; Emmy had finally been having fun after her horrible morning, and with one remark, Helen had brought all the bad feelings right back. It was as if the popular Usul's rich owner had bought her psychic powers along with all the other expensive things.

Snowbird, on the other hand, never seemed to be bothered by insults. "Why don't you go pick on something your own intelligence quotient, Helen?" she said cooly. "Like, say, a Mootix?"

The crowd grew silent. Helen stared at Snowbird, openmouthed. Her eyes were burning. "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" she screamed.

The Lenny opened her mouth, obviously ready to repeat her comment, but at that moment the shopkeeper came over, breaking up the confrontation.

"Hey, girls," he said firmly. "No fighting in my shop, okay?" Then he turned to Helen's followers. "And if you guys aren't gonna order anything, I'll have to ask you to leave. This shop is here to give everyone a Super Happy Icy Fun time. It's not for loitering."

Recognizing defeat, Helen backed off. She and her friends shuffled out, and Emmy realized that they had come in for the sole purpose of bothering her.

After that, the mood was broken. Snowbird and Emmy finished their slushie in silence, then got up to leave. Since their houses were close to each other, they walked home together.

"Why do you let Helen bother you so much?" asked Snowbird. She sounded as if she really didn't understand.

Emmy sighed. "It isn't really her that bothers me," she explained. "It's that I can't ski. You're a Lenny, so you wouldn't understand."

"Well, I can try," replied Snowbird in typical optimistic fashion. "Why does it bother you that you can't ski, then? You're great at pretty much everything else."

"Because it's a Usul thing," Emmy said. "It's what we Usuls bond over. It just makes me feel like I'm not a true Usul, I guess. It's like a Poogle who can't run, or a Koi that can't swim, or a Korbat that can't fly."

"Or a Lenny that's not smart," added Snowbird, nodding. "I think I see what you mean now. There are expectations for every species."

"Right." Emmy didn't show it, but she was immensely happy that her friend understood. "Well, here we are."

The two were standing at the entrance of the neighborhood they both lived in. Its streets were lined with fancy houses, all big, all made with the finest wood and bricks. Both Snowbird and Emmy were lucky enough to come from rich families. Not as rich as ridiculously wealthy Helen, but close.

"Huh? Oh, right." Snowbird seemed to have been thinking hard about something.

"I guess I'll see you on Thursday, then. You will be there, right?" Emmy said. She was talking about her birthday party. Thursday marked one year of life for Emmy, and she was going to have a small party with just her owner and closest friends. And lots of cake, ice cream, and presents, of course.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. See you then!" called the Lenny, running off toward her house.

"If only I could get my real birthday wish," said Emmy softly, long after Snowbird or anyone else was out of earshot.

On Tuesday night, two days before the party, Snowbird excitedly called Emmy's house. The Usul's owner, Razzle, picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Razzle! It's Snowbird."

"Oh, hi. Emmy can't talk right now. She's doing her homework."

"Actually, Razzle, I want to talk to you."

"Okay. I'm all ears."

For the next ten minutes, Emmy's owner and best friend whispered together on the phone. Snowbird did most of the talking, but Razzle's smile got bigger and bigger as she listened. I can't tell you exactly what they said, because at that very moment a large herd of escaped Kaus stampeded through the neighborhood, and nobody heard a thing. And yet, as Emmy came downstairs after finishing her homework, she noticed a sparkle in her owner's eyes. She didn't think much of it, though, and turned on the television.

"Who was on the phone?" she asked casually.

"Wrong number," said Razzle, grinning. "Just a wrong number."

At last, the day of the party came.

Emmy had been anticipating it in the days since her last skiing accident, for more than one reason. First of all, she had a strong feeling that Razzle was going to get her a Faerie Paint Brush.

This, of course, would be a dream come true. Not only would her bigger size allow her to handle skis with ease, but wings would give her an extra advantage at aerial stunts. She got butterflies in her stomach every time she thought about it.

The second, less tangible reason was that she hadn't seen Snowbird outside of school since they had hung out at the Snow Shop. Even when she tried to talk to the Lenny at school, Snowbird didn't speak much. Emmy was eager to spend some quality time with her.

Since it was her birthday, Emmy got the day off from school, and Razzle treated her like a princess. She ate a breakfast of Fluffy Faerie Pancakes in bed, got to watch all the daytime shows that she always missed because of school, and got an early present of three new books. But all day, she was most excited about the party. As Razzle spent the day baking a cookie dough cake, hanging crepe paper, and arranging presents on the dining room table, the little tingle of anticipation in Emmy's stomach grew and grew.

Just an hour before the guests were due to arrive, Razzle burst into Emmy's room, looking upset.

"Emmy, I just realized that we are out of Ice Lollies!" she cried.

"Can't you run and get some before the party starts?" asked the pet.

"No, I can't. The cake will burn before I get back."

Emmy thought hard. It just wouldn't be a party without Ice Lollies. But it definitely wouldn't be a party without a cake, either. Then she got an idea.

"I know! I'll call Snowbird and ask her to pick some up on the way here! Then you can pay her back when she gets here." She smiled, proud of her soloution.

Razzle looked relieved. "Great. That's perfect. You can call her now, and I'll go down and check on the cake."

One quick phone call later, everything was set up. Emmy lay back on her large canopy bed and smiled at the ceiling. "Nothing will go wrong today," she said happily.

Meanwhile, Snowbird trudged through the snow, carrying Emmy's present under one wing and a big box of Ice Lollies under the other. She couldn't wait to get to the party. She, along with Razzle and Emmy's three other guests, had come up with a plan to give their friend the best gift she had ever gotten. It had taken some work, but it would be worth it to see Emmy's surprise and delight.

About halfway between the shops of the mountaintop and Emmy's house, Snowbird paused. She heard footsteps behind her. Slowly, she turned around.

There, standing not ten feet away, was Helen. She was wearing an expensive coat today instead of her skiing outfit, but the nasty look on her face remained the same. She glared at Snowbird.

"Hey, Geek! I never paid you back for your little comment last week!" she screeched. Snowbird tried to stay calm, but truth be told, she was a little bit nervous. That feeling grew as the angry Usul stormed toward her.

"Leave me alone, Helen," she said evenly. "I have somewhere to be."

"Oh, going to Pipsqueak's party, are you? Is that your present?" Helen's eye's fell on the carefully wrapped box under Snowbird's wing. The Lenny gripped it more tightly.

For a second, the two pets stood like that, glaring at each other. Then, the Usul pounced. She looked enraged. Snowbird tried to defend herself, but it was too hard to do while holding two packages. Helen knocked her down, and the fighting pair rolled several feet in the snow, each one trying to disentagle herself from the other. After a few moments, which seemed to go by in slow motion, Snowbird finally managed to loosen Helen's grip, and quickly got to her feet.

"What are you doing? Are you crazy?"

The Usul backed away, panting hard. At that moment, both pairs of eyes fell on Emmy's present. In the midst of the fighting, Snowbird had dropped it. It now lay on the ground, right between them.

Both girls got the same idea at the same time, but Helen, with her smaller, more compact body, was a hair faster than the gangly Lenny. She seized the box, and then, while Snowbird desperately tried to stop her, proceeded to hurl it as hard as she could against a nearby tree.

"NO!" screamed Snowbird, rushing to the package. It was too late. She barely even needed to inspect the present; it was obviously broken.

"Now you don't have anything to give!" Helen squealed triumphantly. "You should have known better than to mess with me, you long-legged geek!" And then she scampered away, laughing hysterically.

Snowbird didn't even try to stop her from getting away. She sat motionless over the smashed gift box, tears running down her cheeks. Without this present, the entire plan was ruined. How could she show her face at the party now?

Mentally, she ran over her short list of options. She could go to the party and try to explain. She could skip the party and try to explain later, when she saw Emmy privately. She was in the middle of weighing the pros and cons, trying to find the better choice, when a third option occured to her. And that third option just might prevent everything from going wrong.

Wiping her tears, Snowbird grabbed the damaged box. Holding it carefully, to ensure that she wouldn't drop it and do more harm, she turned around and headed back down the path, toward Donny's Toy Repair.

Emmy sat on the front porch, getting more worried by the second.

Her guests were inside, having a good time. They were dancing to the music, playing various party games, and generally whooping it up. Even though there were only three of them, they were as noisy as a full house. But Emmy couldn't bring herself to join them. She would wait right here. She would show her loyalty to her best friend, just as the Lenny had done for her countless times.

A small sigh escaped her lips. A tiny part of her was beginning to get mad at Snowbird. She had promised that she would be there. She had even reaffirmed her enthusiasm for being there on the phone, barely two hours ago. So where could she be?

Emmy didn't know it, but inside the house, her friends were just as worried. They were all trying to have a good time, but every few seconds one of them would take a quick peek out the window, checking for signs of Snowbird. They were all in on the top-secret birthday plan, and they all knew that it would be ruined if Emmy opened her presents before the Lenny appeared.

Razzle came in from the kitchen. "Still no sign of Snowbird, huh?" she said.

"No," said Terry, a pink Poogle. "Razzle, what are we going to do?"

"Well, Emmy doesn't seem to have any desire to open presents yet, so I think we're still OK for now," she said nervously.

"I'm going to go outside and wait with Emmy," said Smily, a green Shoyru. "I can't concentrate on having fun when I'm so nervous. Besides, she looks like she needs a friend right now."

Emmy's third guest, a yellow Acara named Amy, and Terry both agreed. The three pets filed outside to sit with Emmy.

When the door opened behind her, Emmy looked up, startled. "Why are you out here, guys?" she asked. "You should be inside, eating cake and having fun. I can hold down the fort out here."

"Are you kidding, Emmy?" said Amy incredulously. "We would never have cake before you blew out the candles!"

"It's no fun without you," agreed Terry. "You're the birthday girl, so we'll do whatever you want. And it's obvious that you want to wait for Snowbird."

"Thanks, guys," said Emmy, her chin trembling a bit. "I'm sorry for being such a burden-"

Smily waved her paw dismissively. "You're not," she said. "Now scoot over so we can sit down."

Two more hours passed. The sun sank low, turning the blue sky into a rainbow of pinks, yellows and reds. Sometimes the girls talked; sometimes they were silent. It was obvious that Emmy was upset. But she had always been a strong Usul, and managed to keep the tears inside. Throughout the entire time, though, she never wavered. She never even suggested that they give up on Snowbird. The cake remained uncut, sealed in an airtight container to keep it moist. The presents remained unopened, arranged in a pyramid shape on the table.

Suddenly, Amy raised her paw, pointing at something. "What's that? I can't see it clearly."

Smily rose to her feet. After sitting so long, her legs were almost asleep. "Guys, I think it's Snowbird!" she cried excitedly.

Emmy stared hard. "Is it?" she asked, hardly daring to hope. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! Yes! I'm positive now!" Smily yelled, jumping up and down.

And in a few more seconds, it was clear. Snowbird was making her way up the street, a package clutched under each wing. Emmy leapt off the porch and rushed to meet her.

"Snowbird! You're here!" she skidded up to her friend, but didn't hug her, so as to avoid knocking the boxes out of her arms.

"Oh, Emmy, I'm so sorry!" the Lenny sobbed. "I've ruined your birthday. Did the others tell you about the plan?"

"What plan?" Emmy looked confused. "I didn't hear about any plan. We've been sitting here, waiting for you. Now come on. I can't wait to have cake and presents! You can explain everything then."

Snowbird was awestruck. She couldn't believe it. Every single one of her friends had stayed loyal. Emmy had waited for her, and the others had kept the secret. She followed the Usul back up to the house, unable to say a word. They joined Terry, Smily and Amy on the front porch, then hurried inside.

"Razzle!" cried Emmy. "The party is on!"

Razzle got up from the couch, where she had been dozing. "Snowbird made it?" she asked.

"Yes," Emmy confirmed. "I want to open my presents now!"

"But of course," smiled Razzle, and quickly fetched the presents. Snowbird added hers to the pile, grinning. "Open mine last," she said to Emmy.

Emmy smiled as wide as the beautiful sunset that was happening outside. Now her party was perfect. She reached for Amy's present. It was soft, and wrapped in pale blue tissue paper.

The Usul tried to open it carefully, but soon gave up and tore it open. She grabbed the contents and lifted them out. Then she gasped.

"A ski suit," she said dumbly.

It was a ski suit, the most beautiful ski suit that Emmy had ever seen. It was all shimmery purple and pink, and matched her fur perfectly. It was also the smallest one she had ever laid eyes on; it looked like it would fit her perfectly.

"It's lovely," she breathed. But then reality struck. "But Amy, why would I need a-"

The Acara shook her head. "Open the rest," she instructed.

Emmy was confused. Why would Amy give her a ski suit when she knew she couldn't ski? But she decided to keep her mouth shut until all the presents were opened. She nodded and picked up Terry's gift, which was hard and round. Curious, she ripped off the bright red, shiny wrapping paper, and revealed a purple ski helmet. Like the suit, it was very small, and looked perfect for the head of a Baby Usul.

Emmy shook her head. "Terry, I don't get-"

Smily cut her off. "Now mine," she insisted, handing Emmy a long, slim box, tied with a bow.

Emmy shot her friends a confused look, but slid the bow off and lifted the lid. Inside, nestled in newspaper, were two minature ski poles. Like everything else, they matched Emmy's colors. They were unique and very pretty, but they made Emmy want to cry. Was this some sort of practical joke? How could her best friends do this?

"You want me to open yours now, right?" she asked Snowbird, looking at the Lenny hopefully. Surely Snowbird, her best friend for as long as she could remember, was not in on this stupid prank.

"Yes!" said Snowbird. "Open it!"

Emmy took the box. She noticed that the wrapping paper was torn at the corner, and the box itself looked pretty beat up. Tearing the wrapping from the place where it was already ripped, she quickly stripped the box. Then she opened the flap.

The gift was a pair of tiny skis. They were purple and pink, like all the other gifts, and had "Emmy" written on the bottoms. As a pet who had spent what seemed like a lifetime in ski shops, looking for a pair that would fit her, Emmy could tell that they were made of the best materials. After putting them on the floor next to the other presents, she finally got it.

Now that she had custom-fitting clothes, headgear, poles and skis, there was no reason why she couldn't partake in an Usul's favorite sport. Her friends, working together, had fulfilled a wish that she thought could never come true. She raised her eyes to her friends, who all had giant smiles on their faces.

"You-" she started, then paused and began again. "How-"

"It was all Snowbird's idea," said Smily modestly.

"That's not true," Snowbird countered. "You guys all helped. You worked night and day on this stuff."

"We might have helped make the equipment and sew the suit," insisted Terry, "but you figured it all out, Snow. Without your blueprints and patterns, we would have been lost."

Emmy shook her head. "It doesn't matter who did what. What matters is that you-all of you-are the best friends an Usul could have!" At that moment, she jumped up and hugged all of her friends close. As they all gave several hugs, she thought with delight about hitting the slopes the next day. It would be so exciting to finally make it down the hill!

As they were hugging, talking, and exclaiming over the presents, Razzle walked in from the kitchen. Emmy caught her eye, and realized that her owner had known about the plan all along.

"Very impressive, all of you," said Razzle. "Now who wants cake?"

As the five pets and one owner shared delicious cookie dough cake and a box of Ice Lollies, Snowbird explained her lateness, telling them everything, from being assailed by Helen, to rushing to Donny's Toy Repair, to arguing with the old Bori for nearly half an hour over whether skis counted as a toy. When she finished her story, tears were brimming in Emmy's eyes again.

"I can't believe you did all that for me, Snow," she said.

The Lenny shook her head. "That's nothing. I can't believe you waited for me for so long!"

"You are both amazingly loyal to each other," concluded Razzle. "I've never seen friends so close."

"So," said Amy, changing the subject, "when are you going to try on that ski suit? I hope I didn't fill my paws with needle pricks for four days straight, just to have it not fit!"

EPILOGUE:

Starting the very next day, Emmy became an amazing skier. Her tiny size actually proved to be a big advantage, and to this day she can be seen zipping easily over jumps and down steep hills.

Emmy's friends started their own small buisness, which now makes extreme sports equipment for Baby pets of all species. Terry, Amy and Smily manufacture the products; Snowbird serves as a designer and manager of buisness affairs.

Helen was forced to go to the Lab Ray by her owner, and was promptly turned into a Mutant Elephante. She was then abandoned, and is now being cared for by her kind, albeit poor, new owner.

Razzle won a Neopia-wide recipe contest, and is now a favorite cook at the Gourmet Club. Her specialty is cookie dough.


End file.
